This photo has been forwarded around the internet as a character slam on Teresa Heinz Kerry. A friend sent it to me with the caption, “Kids, this is no first lady.”
I would rather say something else to our children, similar to what my wife, Jill, told my daughter one day when she came in the dining room of some friends who had served us wine: “Ashley, we are drinking wine. It’s OK. It is not wrong. Jesus and the disciples drank wine. The Bible does not say not to drink. What God does not want is people to mis-use alcohol and get drunk.”
Had the Pharisees snapped a photo of Jesus at a wedding feast or sitting with lousy fishermen, prostitutes, and Jewish renegades, no one would have elected him. They would have crucified him, which figuratively is what opponents of Kerry want to do with his and his wife’s character. 
Greg…thank you for having the courage to post this one.
While I do not like that woman or her husband, I respect that you do. But you are right, it is unfair to portray someone in a negative light doing something I am sure George and the boys do on the ranch regularly. Living in a town that is “dry” I see hypocrisy on this issue abound! I even referenced your comment on my blog today. Thanks for this post!
Greg,
I, too, saw this forwarded, and with what I would think could be in both scriptural and maybe even legal terms, slander. I’m finding that in the political realm, regardless of party, too many Christians think gossip, slander and malice are acceptable. They are not.
Thanks for the post.
This is along the vein of a cartoon I saw of Kerry standing on books that say “gay marraige” and “abortion” with a thought cloud of him saying “I was an Altar Boy” – then on the right a pic of Bush standing on the Bible bowing his head and saying, “I was forgiven.”
Okay, I might be voting for GW but even I’M offended by THAT. PUH-LEESE!!
Glad you have the cajones to post this blog, Greg-o.
Greg, I don’t agree with folks who want to impune Teresa Heinz Kerry’s character because she is having a beer. Do I think it is becoming for a possible future “First Lady”? No
Secondly, I totally agree with Jill’s words to your children. I told my children the exact same thing.
At the same time, I wouldn’t go as so far as to compare Mrs. Kerry’s actions with Jesus’s. I am not sure what her motive was, but I DO KNOW what His were.
I know it made the Pharisee’s EXTREMELY angry when Jesus hung out with the types of outcast that you mentioned, but I don’t believe that is what got him crucified. I don’t think you believe that either.
If somebody makes a decision about Mrs. Kerry or her husband based on a picture, then they are ignorant. Hopefully there aren’t many people out there who will make that mistake. At the same time, I applaud those who look at “character” as a factor when they are deciding who they want to be the leader of this Nation.
And I think people from both sides of the aisle are using that criteria. Character DOES matter.
God bless America, and ALL of our leaders.
I suspect the issue is about something else, in addition to drinking beer. I think it may well be about two things that make evangelicals nervous: a first lady with a strong independent spirit and foreign beers. Wish I could get a better look, but it seems to me that Teresa is about ready to sip from some kind of German or European beer. She’s a woman about the world in a way that makes us anxious and makes us pigeon hole her as “worldly”– she knows about the world (speaks five languages, I believe) and speaks her mind. So, part of the issue is on drinking, sure, but part of it is that it makes evangelicals crazy to see an independent woman, facing the camera, and lifting a glass of (possibly foreign) beer. Kids, this is no Domesticated American Christian First Lady. My guess is that if we could study the First Women that evangelicals have most approved of historically, it would tell us a lot about how we see women and leadership.
W KetchupBush Country KetchupI’m so glad we have solved all of the world’s problems, and we can now concentrate on partisan condiments.
Blanket, irresponsible comments like Kevin’s are the cause of political discussions turning ugly. I suppose I might be classified by some as an “evangelical”, and the thought of a “first lady with a strong independent spirit and foreign beer” does NOT make me “nervous” or “crazy” at all! I don’t know who the “us” are, but if she makes you “anxious” Kevin, speak for yourself. I think it is admirable she speaks five languages. I do good to speak one!
Would you take offense if I made a blanket statement about what makes ALL liberals nervous, crazy, or anxious about women? Gotta say, I think you would….and you would be justified.
Kevin, why did you assume the writer was an evangelical? Nowhere does Greg’s blog even hint at that. It may be true, maybe not, but I think your response indicates a judgementalism that you seem to decry in evangelicals. Am I wrong?
don
Good point, David. I do need to speak for myself. I’m sorry to misrepresent a group.
As an evangelical, Teresa makes me crazy. She’s not like my mom or my grandmothers. Now, Barbara Bush, she was just like my Swedish Baptist Grandma. Everytime she came on TV I could almost smell the potato sausage cooking. Laura is Aunt Carol–quiet, tentative, stands by her man, said she would marry George if she never had to give a speech. But Teresa comes on and she hold up a beer, toasts, looks into the camera and straight at me. She speaks with a foreign accent and leads meetings for a huge philanthropic organization. She’s mad at a reporter and tellsl him to “Shove it.” What’s up with all that? Shouldn’t she be standing somewhere to the side of the President, in a white pantsuit, or maybe giving talks occasionally on children’s reading programs? That would make *me*, anyway, a lot more comfortable.
As to the original blog, Kerry’s character is definitely on the table, as he, himself, is now making an issue of it. (It is naturally an issue, whether he makes it one, or not). I am not hearing anyone else on this blog say it, so I guess that I must. Some things ARE evil. Partial birth abortion is gruesome and evil. John Kerry voted for keeping this procedure legal six times (according to the info I have read), and has stated that any judicial nominees in his administration will have to pass this litmus test (even though it is wrong for pro-lifers to have a litmus test). Folks, this is evil. It is wrong. Some things ARE evil. This is not mud-slinging, it is a proud plank of his platform. Call me judgemental, hateful, intolerant, whatever you want to say, but I really don’t see how a Christian can justify voting for this procedure, or for those who approve of it and would keep it available. TO ME, this issue alone is enough to sway my vote, not to mention several others which I won’t, as I just said, mention. I consider myself a cultural conservative, as well as a fiscal conservative, and there is not much about this current administration that is fiscally conservative, but if I vote only my pocketbook, I’m a whore. Thanks for listening. I just wanted to explain where many of us are coming from.
Don,
Great points on partial birth abortion. I would now like to hear from Greg Taylor on how he justified voting for John Kerry.
Greg,
I agree with your general idea–that personal attacks have no place in political campaigns, and photos can indeed be taken out of context.
However, you spent enough time in Arkansas (along with the former Miss Smiley, and also Dr. Toby) back during Clinton’s time as Governor to know that CHARACTER DOES COUNT. I know because I was there back then, too. I can’t stand Hillary’s political views but will give her credit for one thing: at least she is open and forthright about what she does believe in, and stands up for her principles. Bill Clinton would pat you on the back with one hand and pick your pockets with the other.
The country was warned in advance about Clinton’s character, but chose to ignore the warnings and elected him anyway. And look what they got.
Now, as these photos and stories of Kerry and Mrs. Kerry begin to show their character, perhaps the public needs to be reminded once more that CHARACTER DOES MATTER.
As for G.W. Bush, yeah, he was a rascal in his youth, too. The difference is that he came to know Jesus, and he can tell you first-hand how the blood of Christ can change hearts and change lives.
Don is right. Some things are evil.
War is one of them. Christians have through the ages reluctantly agreed to “just war.” And this one met none of the criteria.
Partial-birth abortion is another of them. We ought to overturn that. But let’s not miss the fact that right now Republicans are in charge of the executive, legislative (house and senate), and judicial branches (Republicans appointed 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices).
Cutting taxes for wealthy while the poor suffer is evil. Works for the wealthy. Very, very nice situation. Want to know why abortion numbers have risen during the Bush administration while they declined during the Clinton administration? Because MORE and MORE people moved into poverty.
Trashing the environment is evil. George Bush did more to ruin our reputation with the world in canceling the Kyoto treaty than we can imagine. We confirmed the belief many have that Americans care only about themselves.
Religious hypocrisy is evil. We have a president who is the darling of the religious right. And yet he doesn’t go to church! Have you noticed that he’s always “spending the weekend” at Camp David or at the Crawford ranch . . . but that he is never in church? Doesn’t anyone miss the stories about Clinton singing in the choir of his church or of Jimmy Carter teaching Bible classes while president?
The previous comment needs some correction, which I will provide here. The anonymous poster stated that President George W. Bush does not even attend church. That is inaccurate, and here are the facts:
When in Washington, George W. often attends St. John the Divine Episcopal church, in a small yellow building just across Lafayette Square from the White House. Every president since John Adams has attended this church at some point. George W. was raised in the Episcopal faith by his parents and grandparents, all of whom attended St. John during their long careers while living and working in Washington (W’s grandfather was a senator, and everyone knows his father’s career). George W. and Laura attend there about two Sundays per month when not traveling.
The other church in Washington where the Bush family attends is First United Methodist. Laura Bush’s family has always been very active in the Methodist church, and George W. began attending with her in Texas when they married—not regularly at first but much more so when he turned his life over to Christ several years ago. They attend this UMC in Washington when they are not at St. John Episcopal.
As for church attendance during weekends at Camp David and/or the Crawford, TX ranch, these are private retreats and the public does not view them. However, it is a matter of public record that whenever the President travels (no matter who the President happens to be), a chaplain is always present, even on Air Force One. The identity of that chaplain varies from time to time. I believe that Max Lucado, being from Texas, has visited with President Bush at the Crawford ranch on several occasions.
A good source to verify this is the book “The Faith of George W. Bush”, the author’s name escapes me at the moment but it is a best-seller.
Finally, the anonymous poster made reference to Clinton singing in the choir. Yes, the church was Emmanuel Baptist in Little Rock, the pastor was Dr. Rex Horne, and my friend Dr. Jack Blackshear sat next to him in the tenor section of the choir. Emmanuel televised their worship services, and Clinton could be seen in the choir loft behind the pastor. As for Jimmy Carter, he did teach Sunday School for many many years, including while President. However, he is on record as not being in agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention for several years now. I do not know which church in Plains, GA the Carters now attend.
Just thought it might be nice to get the facts straight.